NEIR to remain suspended for three months: DC Masud

The National Equipment Identification Register (NEIR) system will remain suspended for the next three months, Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Ramna Division Deputy Commissioner MasudAlam has said.

Speaking after meetings with Chief Adviser’s Special Assistant Faiz Ahmed Taiyeb and representatives of the Mobile Business Community Bangladesh (MBCB) on Sunday afternoon (January 4), DC Masud said the temporary suspension was decided following a review of the overall situation with mobile handset traders.

The meeting with business representatives was held at the Ramna Divisional Police Office.

DC Masud said NEIR would be reactivated after three months and that steps were being taken, in consultation with senior officials, to release the 11 people arrested in connection with recent unrest. He confirmed that the handset registration system would remain on hold during this period, though no detailed explanation was given regarding the grounds for the suspension or the next course of action.

Earlier, MBCB announced protest programmes demanding the withdrawal of the NEIR system and the release of those arrested over the attack on the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) building. The organisation also declared an indefinite shutdown of mobile phone shops nationwide.

As part of the programme, traders blocked the Shahbagh–Karwan Bazar area near the Circuit House intersection on Sunday morning. When police attempted to disperse them, clashes broke out, marked by repeated chases and counter-chases.

Around noon, another group of protesters staged a sit-in on the road, prompting police to intervene again. Law enforcers used batons, sound grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowd, triggering panic in the area and severely disrupting traffic in Karwan Bazar and adjacent roads. Army and RAB personnel were later deployed to help restore order.